Babbitt casting machine to repair worn chipping knife



March 23, 1965 J. L. woon 3,174,198

BABBITT CASTING MACHINE TO REPAIR WORN CHIPPING KNIFE Filed July 2, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENT OR Wood John L- /JWv-J AGE/VT J. L. WOOD BABBITT CASTING MACHINE TO REPAIR WORN SHIPPING KNIFE Filed July 2, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 2.

AGENT March 23, 1965 J, L, WQOD 3,174,198

l BABBITT CASTING MACHINE TO REPAIR WORN GHIPPING KNIFE Filed July 2, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

John L. Ift/00d J. L. WOOD March 23, 1965 BABBITT CASTING MACHINE TO REPAIR` WORN CHIPPING KNIFE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 2. 1963 mvENroR John L. Wood W y Zw AGENT March 23, 1965 J. l.. WOOD 3,174,198

BABBITT CASTING MACHINE TO REPAIR WORN CHIPPING KNIFE Filed July 2, 1963 G Sheets-Sheet 5 zNvsN'roR John L Wood AGENT March 23, 1965 J. woon 3,174,198

BABBITT CASTING MACHINE TO REPAIR WORN CHIPPING KNIFE Filed July 2, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 /fvvEA/TOR John L. Wood United States Patent O 3,174,198 BABBITT CASTING MACHINE T REPAIR WORN CIWPING KNIFE John L. Wood, Summerville, S.C., assigner to West Virgina Pulp and Paper Company, New York, NX., a corporation of Delaware Filed `Iuly 2, 1963, Ser. No. 292,307 Claims. (Cl. 22-58) This invention relates to chipping knives used in the papermaking industry for producing pulpwood chips. The invention especially relates to means whereby knife wear may be precisely compensated for after sharpening used knives and before re-installing the sharpened chipping knives in the chipper.

In the production of paper from Wood, rough logs are commonly debarked and converted into chips which are digested with an aqueous solution by heating under pressure. According to Pulp and Paper Manufacture, edited by I. Neville Stephenson, volume 1, Preparation and Treatment of Wood Pulp, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1950, pages 163-166, the chips generally used in the paper industry are wood sections of uniform size and are about 5/s-inch to 3/21 -inch long.

The multiknife chipper commonly used has 4 to l5 knives mounted in the `face of a heavy rotatable disk with a fiat cutting face which may be 36 to 112 inches in diameter. These knives are usually aligned semi-radially in the face of this disk. They are heavy steel tools, rectangular in shape, which are 12 to 30 inches long, 4 to 8 inches wide, and 1/2- to l-inch thick; they possess a singlybeveled or doubly-beveled cutting edge, depending upon angle of attack, and perpendicularly at sides and back. They may be inserted into the disk face or may be held in place by knife-holder assemblies which fit into inclined slots in the disk face and are themselves secured therein by special stud bolts. Knives o-f popular designs also have a plurality of relatively long and narrow slots, transecting their back portions and aligned perpendicularly to the cutting edges, through which the special stud bolts pass and adjustably clamp the knives inthe knife holder assemblies.

The knife slots play a siniiicant role in this invention. As the knives become dull (every 8 to l() hours when chipping poplar or southern pine and as frequently as every 4 hours when chipping Pacific Coast wood), they must be removed for sharpening. Grinding machines are employed for sharpening which are usually large and must be very rigid. Generally, the grinding operation removes from /gg-inch to lAG-inch in width While retaining the original bevel of about 411/2 degrees for singly-beveled knives and a combination such as lli/2 and 3()D for doubly-beveled knives.

After sharpening, the original knife width must be restored in order that the knives may be securely mounted in the rotatable disk with the cutting edges projecting beyond the flat disk face to the original extent. The older method of restoring width is to insert thin metal shims at the back of each knife. The thinnest shim usually used is gg-inch. Any bias which may occur as a result of grinding can be corrected only approximately unless the back edge is also ground parallel to the sharpened cutting edge before mounting of shims and installation of knives in the disk.

A more satisfactory method which is being widely adopted is to cast Babbitt metal, more commonly designated simply as babbitt, onto the back side of the knife. This method effectively rebuilds the knife and permits the desired width (in this ease, 8 inches) to be maintained to within one or two thousandths of an inch while en- ICC abling bias of the cutting edge with relation to the back side to be precisely corrected.

Current practice is to place the sharpened knife on a fiat surface, install side and back molding surfaces andv knife slot filling tongues, and pour the molten metal by hand into the space at the back side of the knife. This system gives good performance in the hands of a skilled operator but also presents serious hazards to the operators safety. A semi-automatic system is obviously preferable and potentially faster.

It is the principal object of this invention to improve the method of casting Babbitt metal onto the back sides of pulpwood chipping knives in order to compensate for knife wear.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide apparatus means whereby casting of Babbitt metal onto the back sides of pulpwood chipping knives may be done in a more uniform manner, more rapidly, and with increased safety for the operator.

The invention may be more clearly understood by referring to the drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the babbitt casting machine with much of the knife clamp assembly, knife stop, and other parts being shown as phantom views, and with the babbitt box carriage in pouring position.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the machine with the carriage assembly in pouring position.

'FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional top view of the machine taken at 3-3 in FIGURE 1, but without any representation of the carriage assembly or accessory parts.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of a freshly-sharpened pulpwood chipping knife, in ve small sections representing five successive stages of wear which are labelled a, b, c, d, and e, being reinforced with babbitt and restored eX- actly to the original Width of eight inches.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through 5 5 of FIGURE 4d.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational View, as in FIGURE l, showing the knife clamp assembly in retracted position and the carriage assembly in rearward position.

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view, looking downward toward the left front cor-ner of the horizontal casting plate shown in FIGURES 3 and 4.

FIGURE 8 is an isometric View of the means for detecting a rearward movement of the carriage assembly, for actuating a retractive movement of the knife clamping means, and for obstructing movement of the carriage assembly if air pressure fails.

FIGURE 9 represents the compressed-air valving and piping system for operating the various mechanisms of the instant invention.

FIGURE 10 is an isometric view of the babbitt casting machine operating in combination with a separate melting pot which contains a pump for transferring the molten metal to the babbitt box.

' Referring to the drawings, the invention is seen to be a machine comprising means for melting Babbitt metal, storing the molten metal, and delivering it to open molds on the casting table below. (Hereinafter, the front of the machine'is as viewed by the operator and as seen in FIGURE 2. rIlle back side of the sharpened knife, however, is toward the operator when the knife is in position for casting.) This machine further comprises means for supporting the chipping knife in a level position at a convenient height from the floor, for limiting the horizontal oW of molten metal (after delivery at the back of the knife) to the original dimensions of the knife, and for rapidly cooling the knife and molten metal. Finally, the machine comprises knife clamping and attening means, knife tilting means, and means for actuating the knife clamping means by movement of the carriage assembly.

Rigidly attached to a frame, comprising leg supports 11, is a substantially horizontal babbitt casting plate 16A which is cooled by a bottom-mounted water cooling tank through water inlet lines 26 and water outlet lines 27. The cooling tank 25 is integrally attached to the casting plate 16 and mounted beneath the area of deposition for the molten Babbitt metal 38. Rigidly attached to the upper surface of the casting plate 16 are an elongated, straight-edged knife edge stop 19 and a babbitt` back stop 17 whose inner or rear side, between projecting fingers 23, is parallel to and exactly eight inches apart from the front side of the knife edge kstop 19. The projecting fingers 23 are conformably curved to, of approximately equal width, and no greater in length than the knife slots 33 in a chipping knife 30 whereby they easily fit thereinto.

Attached to the babbitt back stop 17, which functions as a levee for molten babbitt along the front oropenators side of the casting plate 16, are a plurality of adjusting rod guides 22, centrally aligned above the projecting ngers 23, for supporting the adjusting rods 24 which are above and parallel to the babbitt back stop 17. These adjusting rods 24 slideably support and align the two babbitt end stops 18. The babbitt end stops 18, being perpendicular to the babbitt back-stop 17 and movably in contact therewith, co-operatively function as movable side retaining walls when placed parallel to and in contact with ends of a chipping knife 30, whereby the horizontal flow of molten Babbitt metal is restricted. The slidable mounting of the babbitt end stops 18 on the adjusting rods 24 permits casting of chipping knives having various lengths.

It is also desirable that both babbitt end stops 1S and babbitt back stop 17 be slightly higher, above the casting plate 16, than the thickness of a chipping knife in order that molten metal will not overflow toward the operator if poured in excessive amounts into the babbitt molding spaces and 36. These spaces, as particularly shown in FIGURE 3, are bounded by the back side of a chipping knife 30, the babbitt end stops 1S, and the babbitt back stop 17. To obtain better adhesion between the chipping knife 30 and the mass of solidified babbitt 38 as it hardens in the babbitt molding spaces 35 and 36, babbitt holding screws 34 may be fixed in the back of the chipping knife 30 between each knife slot 33 when the knives have been sufiiciently reduced in width by several cycles of use. Other techniques frequently practiced to obtain better adhesion between knife and babbitt include the incsing of a longitudinal groove along the back side of the knife 30 and cutting out a circular or V-shaped fiord between adjacent slots 33.

Slideably penetrating the babbitt back stop 17, beneath each projecting finger 23, are a plurlaity of slideable knife slot keys 21, as shown in FIGURE 4. These knife slot keys 21 end in a curved tongue having the same width as the knife slots 33 so that they conformably lit thereinto but are of lesser width than the remainder of the knife slot keys 21 whereby a shoulder is created.

When a freshly-sharpened chipping knife 30 is placed on the casting table 16, with the beveled area 32 downwards, and its cutting edge 31 urged firmly against the front edge of the knife edge stop 19, there is no certainty that this chipping knife 30 is necessarily straight in a horizontal plane. Hard usage or grinding stresses may have caused strains resulting in an appreciable bowing of the knife. An attempt at casting under such conditions would result in molten Babbitt metal flowing beneath the knife and would produce an undesirably'thickand nonuniform chipping knife. To prevent such an occurrence, a powerful clamping assembly means is used in this invention to force the chipping knife 30 into a uniformly dat posture against the casting table 16.

As shown in the drawings, the clamping assembly means comprises a knife clamping blade 40, blade alignment means, blade pivoting means and a power source. The blade pivoting means connect the blade alignment means 4 to the power source. The blade alignment means is comprised of blade holding brackets 45, a blade alignment rod 44, knife clamping alignment wheels 41, and wheel brackets 42. The blade pivoting means is comprised of upper swivel arms 50, lower swivel arms 51, pivot bearings 52, and bearing supports 53.

The lower swivel arms 51 are rigidly connected to the upper swivel arms 50 by mutual rigid attachment at a suitable angle to the pivot bearings 52 which are rigidly attached to the back side of the casting plate 16 by bearing supports 53. Passing through the pivot bearings 52 and rigidly connecting the upper swivelarms 50 and lower swivel arms 51 are pivot rods 54 which are parallel to the back edge of the casting table 16 and are supported near the outside ends by pivot rod bearings 55. When the pivotably-attached ends of the lower swivel arms 51 are pulled down by the piston rod 86, they are pivoted counterclockwise, as viewed in FIGURE l, through an angle of about 65; the upper swivel arms 50 likewise pivot counterclockwise through the same angle, as measured at the bearing 52. The knife clamping blade 40 and associated blade alignment means are thereby raised above the surface of the casting plate 16 and the knife edge stop 19 and carried backwards toward the rear of the machine. The pivoting angle for the lower swivel arms 51 and the upper swivel arms 50 is sufficient to bring the center of gravity of the heavy knife clamping blade 40 and the blade alignment means past the vertical. Consequently, the blade 40 pivots backwards about the blade alignment rod 44 to rest against the upraised upper swivel arms 50, thereby upwardly thrusting the blade alignment wheels 41 into standby position near the back of the machine whereby the knife clamping blade 40 and associated blade alignment means are stored beneath and slightly behind the babbitt box 74 when the babbitt box 74 is pushed back and out of the way of the casting Itable 16, as shown in FIGURE 6.

When the piston rod 86 moves upward as the babbitt box 74 is pulled forward into pouring position, the lower swivel arms 51 and the upper swivel arms 50 are pivoted through the same angle of 65 in a clockwise direction about the axes of pivot rods 54, as seen from the left side as in FIGURE 1. The knife clamping blade 40 and the blade alignment means, while the upper swivel arms 50 are thus rotating, similarly revolve in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURE l, about the blade alignment rod 44 when the center of gravity of the knife clamping blade 40 and attached blade alignment means moves forward of the center of the rod 44. As the blade alignment wheels 41 `revolve about the rod 44 which is simultaneously revolving downwardly about the rods 54, the wheels 41 strike the top surface of the knife edge stop 19, thereby imparting an accelerated clockwise pivoting motion to the knife clamping blade 40. One result thereof is that the knife clamping blade 40 is aligned perpendicularly to the casting plate 16, to the chipping knife 30 resting flatly thereupon, and to the top surface of the knife edge stop 19 at the instant of impact with the chipping knife 30. An equally important considerations, however, is that the knife clamping blade 40 is simultaneously sweeping-through an arc of revolution about the axis defined by the center of the rod 44 so that the direction of the impact force upon the knife 30 is the resultant of a downward force resulting from revolution about the axes of rods 54 and a nearly-horizontal force resulting from revolution about the axis of rod 44. The practical result is that the lower long edge of the knife clamping blade 40 hits the chipping knife 30 with a sliding impact which forcefully abuts the sharpened edge 31 of the chipping knife 30 firmly against'the front edge of the knife edge stop 19 and simultaneously flattens the chipping knife 30 against the top of the casting plate 16.

Attached rigidly and at right angles to the outside ends of the pivot rods 54 are carriage safety cams 57 as shown in FIGURES l, 3, and 6. Each cam 57 rides upon a rotatable carriage rocker wheel 59 which is mounted in the rearward end of a pivotable carriage safety rocker arm 5S lat each side of the machine. Mounted in the other end of each rocker arm 58 is a similar wheel 59 on top of which rides a piston 60.

On each side of the machine, as shown in FIGURE 2, is the substantially vertical carriage forward piston 60. As may be clearly seen for the right side assembly in FIGURE 8, each piston 60 passes through a pilot valve holder and carriage piston guide 64 and is downwardly biased therefrom by an encircling spring 65 beneath the holder and guide 64. The pistons 60, urged by springs 65, maintain pressure upon rocker arms 58. These holders and guides 64 are rigidly attached tothe side frame plates 11 and also support the pilot valves 62 and 63 which respectively actuate the knife clamping assembly means when the babbitt box 74 is moved forward into pouring position or pushed backward to permit removing restored knives and positioning newly-sharpened knives.

On the left-hand pilot valve holder and carriage piston guide 64 is the forward knife clamp pilot valve 62 having air outlet ports 66 `'and an air supply line 92. On the right-hand pilot valve holder and carriage piston guide 64 is the return knife release pilot valve 63 which has air outlet ports 66 and an air supply line 93, as shown in detail in FIGURE 8.

Both air supply lines 92, 93 deliver air from a three-way air valve 38 mounted beneath the machine. The air valve used for the instant embodiment of this invention is a Mead FT-ll, having a main air supply line 94, an air exhaust line 96, two lines 92, 93 supplying air to both pilot valves 62, 63, two lines 90, 91 supplying air to the air cylinder S5, and one lie 95 supplying air to a knife-tilting air valve 99, which is a hand-operated Mead 40G-A valve in the instant embodiment, located on the right side of the casting plate 16. When the actuating handle on this air valve 99 is depressed, air is supplied through air line 97 to two knife-tilting air cylinders 106 which are located beneath the casting plate 16. In this embodiment, Mead H-4l cylinders were used. Spaced widely apart, these air cylinders 160 have knifetilting pistons 161 which pass through the casting plate 16 to emerge beneath chipping knife 36 slightly in front of the knife edge stop 19. When the handle of the valve 99 is depressed, these pistons push the front edge of the sharpened and babbitt-enlarged knife 30 upwards so that a iirm handheld can be obtained on each end of the tilted chipping knife 30.

The knife clamp air cylinder 85, a Mead V-lZ-SS, which is the power source for the knife clamping assembly and which is mounted on the transverse member S3, has a lower air inlet line 96 from the air valve 83 and an upper air inlet line 91 from the air valve 88 whereby the sliding piston 86 can be respectively raised or lowered a distance of six inches when actuated by movement of the babbitt box 7 4.

When the babbitt box 74. is pulled forward into pouring position, the tripper 68 on its left side (see FIGURE 2) overruns and depresses the carriage sensor 67 at the top of the forward knife clamp pilot valve 62, and air immediately rushes out of ports 66; when the pressure is thus lowered in air line 92, air is exhausted from the upper part of air cylinder S5 through air line 91 into the threeway air valve 88 and to the atmosphere through exhaust air line 96 as schematically illustrated in FIGURE 9. Simultaneously, air moves through air line 99 to the lower part of the cylinder S5 whereby the piston 86 is forced upwards approximately six inches and the knife clamping assembly is simultaneously pivoted forwardly and downwardly into clamping position onto the chipping knife 30.

When the babbitt box 74 is pushed back after pouring Babbitt metal, the right-hand tripper 68 overruns and depresses the carriage sensor 67 at the top of the return knife release pilot valve 63. Air immediately rushes out of ports 66; the pressure is decreased in line 93, air is exhausted from the lower part of the air cylinder S5 through air line 90 and exhaust air line 96, and air simultaneously enters the upper part of air cylinder 85 through air line 91, causing the piston 86 to drop approximately six inches and the knife clamping assembly to pivot rearwardly and upwardly from the chipping knife 39, as shown in FIGURE 6.

The carriage assembly is movably mounted above the casting table 16 and comprises a babbitt box 74 to melt Babbitt metal and store the molten metal therein, babbitt heating means, babbitt pouring means, and means for horizontal movement of the carriage assembly. The Babbitt metal is loaded into the babbitt box 74 through an open loading gate 72 which projects beyond the front of the babbitt box 74. Melting of this metal is accomplished with heating means 76. In this embodiment of the invention, five chromalox strip heaters, x 11/2" x 10%", of 750 watts D.C., are installed horizontally along the backside of the babbitt box 74 and three of the same size and capacity are installed along the front side beneath the loading gate 72. In addition, chromalox stn'pheaters, 3%" x 11/2" x 1, of 250 watts D.C., are installed along the front side only on each side of the open loading gate 72, and two chromalox stripheaters, x 11/2" x 7, of 15G watts D.C., are installed along the front side only beneath the open mouth of the loading gate 72. Alternate heaters are connected to thermoswitches in each end of the box. Fenwal thermoswitches, Catalog No. 16050, made by Fenwal, Inc., Ashland, Massachusetts, were used in the instant embodiment.

The babbitt box 74 is suspended at each end from two ball-bearing trolley wheels 69 which roll upon tracks within trolley housings 61 which are rigidlyl attached along each inner top side of the side frame plate 11.

The trippers 68 are cams which are pivotably attached to the carriage assembly on each side thereof, facing in opposite directions. Each functions as a rigidly-mounted cam, to ride over and force downwards a carriage sensor 67, when its curved side faces the direction in which the babbitt box 74 is travelling. When the babbitt box 74 is moving in the opposite direction, each tripper 63 easily pivots upwardly over the sensor 67 on its side. While the babbitt box 74 is in `its forward or pouring position and the forward rocker wheels 59 are elevated, as seen in FIGURE 1, the tops of the pistons 66 project suciently above the pilot valve holder and carriage piston guides 64 to obstruct further passage of the trippers 68, thereby functioning as a safety device if air pressure fails.

The molten Babbitt .metal is delivered to the casting areas 35 and 36 through the six pouring spouts S2 by manual operation of the babbitt pouring control handle 83. When this handle 83 is pulled downwardly, the babbitt valve operating linkage 78 is lifted simultaneously for all six valves. This babbitt valve operating linkage 78 includes vertical straps and a pair of horizontal valve arms 89 for each valve to be lifted. The arms 89 are counterbalanced by the babbitt valve stem weights 79 at one end and pivot at the other end from the front of each of the babbitt valve linkage housings 81, as shown in FIGURES l and 6, lifting the babbitt valve stems 75 to open each of the babbitt valve inserts 76. Accurate control of the ow rate through each valve insert 76 can be obtained by individually rotating the babbitt valve limit screws Sil. Because the babbitt casting areas 36 near the ends of the knife are smaller than the inner cast-ing areas 35, it is necessary to adjust the screws with care. When the handle 83 is depressed, each pair of arms 89, which slidably encompasses a stem 75, compresses each spring 77 and thereby lifts each stem 75 until the top of the stem strikes the bolt and washer beneath the respective screw 80. Essentially, lifting forces are transmitted through the springs 77; when the top of a stem 75 strikes the bottom of the corresponding screw 89, compression of the spring 77 permits the linkage to continue travelling until all inserts are fully opened even though the screws have been individually adjusted.

The method of operating the machine of the instant invention may be described as occurring in the following steps:

(1) Drop solid Babbitt metal into the babbitt box loading gate 72 whereby the babbitt box heaters 70 can melt the metal and maintain it uniformly in molten condition.

(2) Place sharpened chipping knife 30 on ca ing table 16 with sharpened edge 31 firmly against the knife edge stop 19 and with beveled edge area 32 downward; slide the two babbitt end stops 18 snugly against the ends of the knife 30; and adjust the slideable knife slot keys 121 inwardly to maintain the knife slots 33 at approximately no greater length than two-thirds of the knife width in order to prevent cast babbitt from being :too narrow in width at the shoulders of slots 33, thereby obtaining ade- .quate strength.

(3) Move the carriage forward by grasping the babbitt box manual control handle '73 and pulling the babbitt box 74 toward the chipping knife 30; when the lefthand sensor tripper 68 passes over the carriage sensor 67 at the top of the forward knife clamp pilot valve 62 at about the half-way point, air exhaust from the ports 66, air exhausts from the upper part of the air cylinder 85 through the air exhaust line 96, air enters the lower part of the air cylinder S5, the air cylinder piston rod 86 moves upwardly, 'the knife clamping assembly moves pivotably toward the chipping knife 36, the knife clamping blade alignment wheels 41 strike the top of the knife edge stop19 and pivotably align the knife clamping blade 40 perpendicularly to the chipping knife 30 immediately prior to sliding impact thereupon; and the knife clamping blade 49 exerts sufficient pressure along the length of the chipping knife 30 to force the knife 30 into parallelism with the casting table 16 after impelling its sharpened edge 31 against the front edge of the knife edge stop 19.

(4) Pull the babbitt pouring control handle 83 downwards when the babbitt pouring spouts S2 are over the babbitt casting areas and 36 after adjustment of the limit screws 80; push the control handle 83 upwards when the level of molten babbitt in the areas 35 and 36 is substantially even with the top surface of thek hori- Zontal chipping knife 30.

(5) Push the carriage backward with the manual control handle 73; when the right-hand sensor tripper 68 passes over the carriage sensor 67 at the top of the return knife release pilot valve 63 at about the half-way point, air exhausts from the ports 66 and from the lower part of the cylinder 85, air enters the upper part of the air cylinder 85, the air cylinder piston 86 drops, and the knife clamping assembly moves upwardly and backwardly, releasing the chipping knife 3).

(6) Because cooling water in the water cooling tank 25, through the water inlet lines 26 and the water outlet lines 27, has been continuously cooling the casting plate 16, the molten Babbitt metal has solidified and the repaired chipping knife 3) is now ready for removal; depress the manual lever on the knife-tilting air valve 99; as the knife-tilting pistons 101 upwardly tilt the chipping knife 30, grasp its ends and remove the knife 30 The method and apparatus of the instant invention may be used for restoring worn objects in other industries to normal dimensions or for other metal-repair operations. Furthermore, the apparatus, after suitable modification such as removal or alteration of 'the clamping means, may be employed in numerous casting applications requiring repetitive manipulation of cast objectsand molds and the casting of metals having low to moderate melting points. A modification which can be useful for casting relatively large quantities of metals comprises melting babbitt or other suitable metal in a separate pot or cupola and transferring the molten metal to the babbitt box 74 by pumping or by gravity iiow.

As shown in FIGURE 10, babbitt 3S canV be maintained in molten condition in melting pot 14 and can be transferred when needed to babbitt box 74 by submerged pump 37, which is powered by motor 23 on adjustable mount 29, through babbitt transfer pipe 39. Pipe 39 is installed with adequate slope for drainage of molten babbitt into babbitt box 74 or into babbitt melting pot i4 as soon as pump 37 ceases to operate. Babbitt transfer pipe 39 is heated by a conventional means, such as an electrical 'heating tape 4S. Babbitt melting pot 14 is insulated and is also heated by conventional means; preferably, as shown in FIGURE 10, these are chromalox striphea'ters 46, of the same size and type as the stripheaters used as heating means to heat the babbitt box 74, which are connected to electrical cable 47.

I claim:

1. A babbitt casting machine adapted to repair a worn chipping knife, comprising:

(a) a frame, including a level metal casting plate;

(b) boundary surfaces on the top surface of said casting plate which may be selectively disposed thereupon to facilitate substantial re-creation of the worn chipping knife to its original length and width;

(c) means for cooling the metal casting plate;

(d) a movable carriage assembly for melting, storing,

and metering molten babbitt, comprising:

(1) a babbitt box adapted to store molten babbitt;

(2) a plurality of valve means located at the bottom of the babbitt box which are adapted to deliver molten babbitt to selected casting areas;

(3) a pouring control handle;

(4) linkage means, connecting said handle and said valve means, which enable each valve to deliver molten babbitt in independently selected quantities;

(5) trolley supporting means, rollably attaching said carriage assembly to the frame, whereby the carriage assembly may be rolled forwardly into pouring positions over the casting plate or rolled rearwardly to permit access to the casting plate;

(e) alignment and clamping means capable of aligning and flattening said chipping knife against the casting plate; and

(f) means for detecting the forward and rearward movements of the carriage assembly and for actuating the pressure means whereby the clamping blade is pivo'ted forwardly after the carriage box has passed forwardly beyond a position of interference thenewith and is pivoted backwardly before the carriage box has returned to a position of interference therewith.

2. The babbitt casting machine of claim 1 wherein the babbitt box contains means for melting the babbitt.

3. The babbitt casting machine of claim 1 wherein the babbitt box receives molten babbitt delivered thereto from an external means for melting the babbitt.

4. The babbitt casting machine of claim 1 wherein said boundary surfaces comprise:

(a) an elongated straight-edged knife edge stop rigidly attached to the top surface of the casting plate;

(b) an elongated back stop, having a greater height than the thickness of the worn chipping knife, which is rigidly attached to the top surface of the casting plate and is parallel to and as distant from the nearest side of the knife edge stop as the original width of the worn chipping knife; and

(c) two end stops, of greater height than the thickness of the worn chipping knife, which may be selectively disposed into contact with the ends of a worn chipping knife, whereby 'the horizontal ow of molten babbitt is restricted;

5. The babbitt casting machine of claim 1 wherein said alignment and clamping means comprise:

(a) a clamping blade which slideably contacts said knife to align its edge forcibly against said knife guide and thereafter applies sufficient pressure to atten the knife against the casting plate;

(b) pressure means capable of imparting linear movement;

(c) linkage means which movably connect said clamping blade and said pressure means in order to transform the linear movement imparted by the pressure means into a primary pivotal movement of the clamping blade;

(d) rotatable wheels, attached to said clamping blade, which strike the top of the knife guide shortly before completion of the primary pivotal movement and cause the blade to perfom a simultaneous secondary pivot and to strike the top of the chipping knife with a sliding impact while in an upright posture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,763,042 Zupez Sept. 18, 1956 

1. A BABBIT CASTING MACHINE ADAPTED TO REPAIR A WORN CHIPPING KNIFE, COMPRISING: (A) A FRAME, INCLUDING A LEVEL METAL CASTING PLATE; (B) BOUNDARY SURFACES ON THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID CASTING PLATE WHICH MAY BE SELECTIVELY DISPOSED THEREUPON TO FACILITATE SUBSTANTIAL RE-CREATION OF THE WORN CHIPPING KNIFE TO ITS ORIGINAL LENGTH AND WIDTH; (C) MEANS FOR COOLING THE METAL CASTING PLATE; (D) A MOVABLE CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY FOR MELTING, STORING, AND METERING MOLTEN BABBITT, COMPRISING: (1) A BABBITT BOX ADAPTED TO STORE MOLTEN BABBITT; (2)A PLURALITY OF VALVE MEANS LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BABBITT BOX WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO DELIVER MOLTEN BABBITT TO SELECTED CASTING AREAS; (3) A POURING CONTROL HANDLE; (4) LINKAGE MEANS, CONNECTING SAID HANDLE AND SAID VALVE MEANS, WHICH ENABLE EACH VALVE TO DELIVER MOLTEN BABBITT IN INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED QUANTITIES; (5) TROLLEY SUPPORTING MEANS, ROLLABLY ATTACHING SAID CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY TO THE FRAME, WHEREBY THE CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY MAY BE ROLLED FORWARDLY INTO POURING POSITINS OVER THE CASTING PLATE OR ROLLED REARWARDLY TO PERMIT ACCESS TO THE CASTING PLATE; (E) ALIGNMENT AND CLAMPING MEANS CAPABLE OF ALIGNING AND FLATTENING SAI CHIPPING KNIFE AGAINST THE CASTING PLATE; AND (F) MEANS FOR DETECTING THE FORWARD AND REARWARD MOVEMENTS OF THE CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY AND FOR ACTUATING THE PRESSURE MEANS WHEREBY THE CLAMPING BLADE IS PIVOTED FORWARDLY AFTER THE CARRIAGE BOX HAS PASSED FORWARDLY BEYOND A POSITION OF INTERFERENCE THEREWITH AND IS PIVOTED BACKWARDLY BEFORE THE CARRIAGE BOX HAS RETURNED TO A POSITION OF INTERFERENCE THEREWITH. 